Packing apparatus



Dec. 8, 1953 M. E. FRANCISCO 2,661,882

7 PACKING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet l MARSHALL E.FRANCISCO INVENTOR HUEBNER, BEEHLER,

woRkEL a HERZ/G ATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1953 M. E. FRANCISCO 2,661,882

PACKING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E vii 1'12"".

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MARSHALL E. FRANCISCO INVf/VTOP HUEBNER BEEHLER,

WORREL 8 HERZ/G ,4 7'70/PNEKS y BMW/M Dec. 8, 1953 M. E. FRANCISCOPACKING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 18, 1952 MARSHALL E.FRANCISCO R. G Ha & 5a 1 m 5 0 H w lw if 8 ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 8,1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PACKING APPARATUS Marshall E.Francisco, San, Jose, Galir.., Application September 18, 1952, SerialNo. 310198 (on. 22e 14).

r 8 Claims. 1.

The present.- invention relates: to a packing a l-- paratus adapted toreceive a plurality of articles such as stuffed olives and the like, tobe packed,

and to deposit-the same in a. jar, bottle, or other container thereforinpredetermined attitudes and relations. as for display purposes.

The apparatus of the general character described in my copending patentapplication, filed April 5; 19-53, Serial No. 154,099, entitled"Automatte Packing Apparatus, and constitutes an improvement the-rein.The problemswhich theinvention constituting the subject matter of theabove identified patent application has overcome are convenientlyillustrated by reference to the packing of 'stufled olives intransparent glass bottles. $tufied olives are generally received in bulkfrom various Southern European sources and previously were handpacked inthe United States into the small glass bottles of the type generallydisplayed in grocery stores, delicatessens, and, the like. Prior to theprevious invention, the olives were selected from bulk and placed byhand with the aid oftwezersin the-bottles. with the stufilng outwardlydisposed and'faced against the bottle walls so as exteriorly to presenta smooth and pleasing appearance. The olives were eirculariy arrangedinthe bottles and compacted 'sothat by theirown resiliencein the circ-ulararrangement, firm engagement with the Wal1s-of-the'bottles wasmaintained. successively superimposed circular layers of the i usuallypositioned in the container to provide vertical-alignment oivcorresponding olives in each layer in'staeked arrangement; This tedious.and expensiveprocess was at one time universal practice in the packingof stuffed olives andeven at the present is followed by many packers whohave not yetbeen able t tmechanizetheir opera.- tion. Th labor for suchhand packing, isof such extent that a substantial p'ortioriof the totalcost of each bottleof olives resulsiromth'e packing operation.

Although the device of the previous invention was the first apparatus,known to the applicant capable of packing stuffed olives and the like intheir containers in a speedy and economical manner, thea paratus undervcertain conditions was subject to difiiculties which the pre nterventionhas overcome.

In facing the olives outwardly v against their containers it isnecessary that the olives be thrust outwardly. Thiswas accomplished bythe Dre viousinvention bydrawi ga spreader :rod, hav ing an enlargedirus-to-conical'end. Portion, upwardly betweenpthe olives while theolives were olives were held. downwardly in position. Although entirelysatisfactory in most instances, the, use, of such a, spreaderrodoccasionally tips. the olives so that. the stumng thereof; is notdisplayed in the most advantageous positions.

An ject or the present invention is to provide for the outward thrustingof olives and, the like to f i g en agement. with a. container in whichthey are acked by an apparatus of the characterdescribed so as to; avoidthe tipping: incident oth utilizationoia spreader-rod.

Another objeet is more economically to make available .to restaurants,bars, consumers, and the like, stu-fied olives and similar articles:frequently packed laytedious and expensive hand operations.

Another object to minimize the expenses and wasted-time incident tothe.packing' ofnfruit and. the like by hand in oonta'ners therefor underconditions requiring predetermined ordered ar rangement of the 'frui-tand proper facing thereof, as fordispl 'ypurposes.

Another object automatically and -mechani-- orally to pack articles inselected numbers in pre determined relation and attitudes in containers"provided therefoix I Another object: is to provid -an improved me-'chanical packing' aid adapted- Simultaneously to position a plurality ofarticles in predeterhuned circular arrangement in a'container thereforand upon release or the articles in the containers tourge the samediall'y outwardly in predeterminedattitudes.

Anotherv obj coi is able holding and and the like ad'ap to provideimproved release positioning means for fruit dependably to supportandrelease the i-same withaininimu'm of damage thereto.

Otheroosect's are to prov de improved elements andarrangements thereofin a device of the character-and-for the purpo es set forth that isdependable ihopeiatioaeeohomicai a produce and rapid in the performanceofits packing function. Further objects and adv'ahta'ge's will become.apparent in the subsequent description the specification. r 1

In the drawings: V Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevati n partially invertical section" of apacking apparatus em-. bodyin'g theprinciples of-the'- present invention; Fig; 3 is aseouon taken on line $52 of ig.1,Fig. ii -is a fragmentary enlarged vertical section of areleasable-holdingdevice for olives and the like utilize'xi in theapparatus of the present invention taken approximately ihfiheposition'oeone a ainr'zgfi." I

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the structure shown in Fig 3 taken in aplane normal to the section of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the device taken in the approximateposition indicated by line 5-5 on the vertical section of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the device in the approximate positionindicated by line 6-6 on the vertical section of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 .is a transverse section of the device in the approximateposition indicated by line 1-1 on the vertical section of Fig. '3.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the device in the approximate positionindicated by line 8-8 on the vertical section of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective of an ejector utilized in thereleasable holding device.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective of a holding device andmanipulating rod utilized therewith shown with the ejector removedtherefrom. Fig. 11 is a vertical section-of an olive bottle andfragmentarily enlarged portion of the packing apparatus of the presentinvention as viewed at the loading station subsequent to the packing offour layers of olives in the bottle.

Fig. 12 is similar to Fig. 11 but shows the described structurepositioned to locate a pair of successive layers of olives in thebottle. i Fig. 13 is similar to Fig. 12 but illustrates a successivestep in which holding fingers are withdrawn from the olives while theolives are held downwardly in the bottle and thrust radially of thebottle into facing engagement therewith.

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation of a packing headillustrating the radial thrusting of olives during release therefrom.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings:

Preliminary to a description of the packing head of the presentinvention, attention is invited to associated structureshown in Figs; 1and 2, part of which constitutes the subject matter of a United Statespatentapplication in the process of preparation. Any .suitable supportframe is represented generally at 10 having a horizontal table [Imounted thereon providing an opening 12 therethrough ata packing locus.A sub-table I3 is located beneath the table II in parallel relationthereto. A conveyor belt I 4 or any other suitable means of conveyingbottles t5 to the packing locus is mounted for travel in the subtabledirectly beneath the opening l2.

A star wheel ll, of well known form, is rotatably mounted in thesub-table I3 on a substantially vertical shaft 18 and is driven by meansnot shown so as periodically to locate a bottle l5 in alignment with theopening 12 and to retain the bottle in such alignment until packed. Anarm [9 is pivotally mounted on the sub-table transversely of the belt I4from the star wheel I! and is urged by a spring 20 into bottleengagement so that the bottle is dependably held in star wheelengagement.

A spider member 22 is mounted on the table H in spanning relation to theopening 12 and provides'a cylindrical guide portion 23 in axialalignment with the opening and in elevatedspaced relation to the table II.

A 'gooseneck housing 25 is rigidly mounted on the table II and extendedover the opening I2. A hearing 26 is mounted in the housing in verticalconcentric alignment with the opening. A rack gear 21 is slidablymounted. in the bearing 25 for reciprocal elevational movement, and apacking head, indicated generally by the numeral 28 is coupled to therack gear at 29 and provides a lower end slidably mounted in the guideportion 23 of the spider member 22. The significant structure of thepacking head will subsequently be described, it being sufficient at thispoint to observe that the packing head is elevationally reciprocatedbetween a loading station, illustrated in Fig. 1, and a succession ofelevationally spaced packing positions in a bottle l5 so as to packsuccessive layers of olives or other articles therein. The system forvertically reciprocating the rack gear and the'packing head coupledthereto in the manner described is to constitute the subject matter of apatent application now in the process I of preparation but for purposesof disclosing an operable entity, attention is briefly devoted theretoat this point.

A pinion 34 is rotatably mounted in the housing 25 in mesh with the rackgear 21 and has a driving pinion 35 integral therewith. A sector gear 35is rotatably mounted in the housing as at.3| for reciprocal pivotalmovement. A lever 38 is upwardly extended from the sector gear anditwill be evident that pivotal movement of the lever serves to impartreciprocal rectilinear movement to the rack gear 21 and packing device28.

So that the upper limit of reciprocal movement of the rack gear 21 andpacking head 28 may be constantly maintained and the lower limit Of themovement be regulated to achieve the elevational stepped progression forthe packing of successive layers of olives, a slide member 42 is mountedon the lever 38 and provides a downwardly dis-.- posed concave camsurface 43. A compression spring 44 is provided between the slide memberand a head 45 mounted on the upper end of the leverand serves to urgethe slide member downwardly. I

A bracket 48 is mounted in the housing 25 and provides a vertical guidechannel 49 therein vertically aligned with the pivotal mounting 3 1 ofthe sector 36. A'bar 56 is mounted in the channel 49 for reciprocalelevational movement and mounts a cam positioning roller :5l on theupper end thereof in engagement with the cam surface 43.

. A shaft 52' is rotatably mounted horizontally the housing in verticalalignment below the bar 50. A progression cam 53 is removably mounted onthe shaft for unitary rotational movement therewith in any suitablemanner. A cam following roller 56 is rotatably mounted on the lower endof the bar and rests on the cam 53. Asthe cam 53 rotates in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in Fig. 1, the bar 50 is elevated, elevating theslide member 42 on the lever 38.

A pair of pillow blocks 51 are mounted in the housing 25 and provide apair of slide bearings 58 in horizontal alignment with the mounting 31of the sector gear 38. A pair of shafts 59 are mounted in the bearingsfor axial reciprocal movement toward and from said mounting 3'1. Theshafts and their respective bearings are preferably complementarilysplined and. grooved so that the shafts cannot rotate in the bearingsbut are restricted to axial reciprocation therein. An internal closedcam fill is rigidly mounted between the shafts in a substantiallyvertical plane. A push-pull arm 6| pivotally interconnects the slidemember 42 and the cam 80.

' A shaft 54 is journaled in the housing 25 in substantially rightangular relation to the aligned shafts '59 and mounts a sprocketthereon. A crank 65 is externally extended from the shaft into theclosedcam E0. Driven connection is made to the drive shaft 61 of anelectric motor or 38 and sector gear 36, a ratchet wheel 12 ismounted onthesh-aft 52: A pawlarmwis pivoted-onthctshait; and mountsa-pawl Hmratchet. wheet engagement. An eccentric l having a. sprocket iiiintegrali therewith is rotatably mountedin the housingin substantialalignment with theratchet; wheels. A pnsh-pull-armpivotsmterconnectstheeccentric and thepawl arm. eccentric. is; rotated: synchronously withthe crank 66 by means of a chaincmfitted toithe sprocket wand: aboutthetriple isprocket GEmQimtQd-Qnthedrive shaft 611. Thelpackmg. hadzmincludes an elongated rod iiopinned to the racheear 21;: Ashest.. shown.inl igs 3 4 and.

like the; rod hasa lower end; which amounts asu-hylindrical head. at.thereon; A plmalitvofinairs oi elongated transversely flat resilient.fin ers 821 are. mounted; on the head in asubstantia lv ilzcular arranement and. endwardl ex.- e. dad downwardly-r therefrom. The. fingers.pr. inner.- edges and outer edges.' and the d essers f: ach. are"mounted on the. head ran versely substanti lly parallel to. a. plane.radiahto the headbpassed michvay-therebetween, hai-fin ers oi. achnair:are .alsolongitudinallyarcuate to provide facing concavesnriaces 83;dapted o. receive therebetween. articles; to be pack diahdare ehdwardlyconvergent therefrom alt-g5; 'Lfhe article holding receptacles: defined:is the. fa ing; concave surfaces 813' may be. at a emmam lev on to.pachclimsun the. like; in a. in lczlaver 1: mayb atdiiier nt elevationsso s o each ap umality 01% layers. during: each packma t r-1Eor llhtnative c nvenience, a form is hawmwith: wh ch two laversof. :olivesare.packed each con isting-of a cal-.11 or a xiallv aliened olives.

and-w th: t e. li s the-.adiacentlayers right.

modemsel ted; .asshowa. in. Fi 7.; audit. of gapfi 1 si nificance isthe.,form.:of.;the fin gets :wbicllz' en dahly-holds olives or thelike-in Qndered arrangemeht; and: upon release. thereof -i ss-thesame uw r v' mm engage?" meat, with; thesbottle I15; Qnefinger. of; each; pairis, dextrorsal-ly twisted its convergent portion, al d -thel oppositefinger Simst-rorsaI-Iy twisted so;

ihatltherinner dg s. of; the fingers of: each pair;

ahp zoach each other; 1 endwa-rdly of; ther fingers: tqhas-beem found;that. the utilization of this iqramqof fineehobtiates themed. for aspreadin gin of -thecharacter described in-, copendinpatent.application:reierred -to andoi: article; tine gingprdisolacem nincidenatheretm Althou h thglinner and-{outer edsesyofieachfingeiiarevsuh stantially parallel from the top; 01? each;fingerhroughout most. of. it length; the. inner edge thereoilsphliquely.slanted toward: its; respective; outer edg adjacent. tQthe.extendedend-or each. finger; further to. facilitate.outward-thnustineof; heart 'clesd rine ischarge.

"A: cylindrical; sleeve 81, is, sIidably. mounted. c n ca ly n the. rod;8;u*-.io.r endwardmover: ment relative thereto by, slide bearings .88.A. sleeve preferably extends from a portion: adjacent to the head 8!-into the housingfii;

- c-rossheadwjector or hold-ing member-embest shownlin-Figfl;isrigidly-mounted onthe sleeve. bwmeans of a pair'oi arms 9landprovid'es an eiectingaelement: ill-extendedbetweezrthe pairsojsifingersitm on the upperlevel of the packing lieadi mm all pair ofieieetop elements lit-down- V cam followerstodraw,

watery theme-e between the fing'ers a2 ofthe lower level. The head!!!i's -vertically' grooved slidabl'y to receive-the arms9l whichare-screwthreadably or otherwise mounted within the sleeve. Acompression spring 94' is mounted'con centricallyon the-rod floundercompression between the-head H and the lower slide bearing 88. Thespring urges the head and fingers downwardlyrelative to the elector sothat: ejecting: elements 92 and Sideline upper-limits for olive-or otherarticle hol'dingreceptacles defined between the fingers;

As described tov this point, it; will beevident that the ejectorand-fingers are vertically'recip roca'ted together: upon rotationxof thedrive shaft: G L In order to eject. olives. or other articles. frombetween the fingers at the: lower: limits. of recipro cation of the.packing head: 28.; itisnecess'aryto. holdthe' sleeve. 8:7. and ejector911 downwardly upon initial return-travel oi theirod 8.0, head 8il', andfingers, 82. Thus, as: the fingers are returned upwardly,.. the ejectingelements can hold. the; olivesin placeand the outwardly flared characterof the fingers urgeqthe olives slidably outwardly: into facing.engagement with'the bottle.

For the purpose of periodically interrupting: the .reciprocalmovement:oft'the ejector G0; a. titbular brake: hOllsing efia isamounted in thehousing: 25. radially of the sleeve;- vA:paiffcn? jam/s39!- are:pivotall-y mounted m'thehonsing as atllaiandrare loosely fitted-totheavsleeve ttl; as'best shownziin Fig; 2. The laws are preferablyprovidediwith; any suitable brake? shoes; 95.. A- spring hill) is:mountedv under compression. between. the-jaws and serves. to urgethejawsoutwardlyfromthe sleeve for free movement. orthe; sleevew-tthtlio rodi 8.13;. To actuate the jaws; aJpainoficamWayS; til-i whichdiverge toward the; sleeve are: pro:- vided in the jaws. A brake-rodI07; is slidably mounted in the make; housing: 361 and- .nivotallymounts: a yoke i103 .thereorr having cam followers: 4:6 4. rotatablymounted on. opposite thereofi in rolling camway engagement; a

The, brake rod 102:. extended firom the hon-S.- ingaawayzfrom thezsleeveand mounts-.a colla-r k118i thereon which; serves to: holdi: acompression spring lli t betweem 71 31610113111 and brake housing: 96 soas to urge the rod away from the sleeve sw as to release'thejaws 9. 7%'frromrthe closing: effect of the;oamsfollowersatiidc Ashaft H-ilisrctatably mountedin. therhousing; 25 in; alignment with; the brakerod. Hi2. andz l rovidessaz cam= if! i: thereon periodicallyell j eableWihih thebrake rodritoz forcethe: same towardjthm sleeve to' cause: the;the jaws: together so asatm hold the: sleeve.-

against. movement with A brake sprocket .l liz is-rotatably mounted:imthe, housing 25: and-.has.--:driven conn'ectiom to: the sprocket;68:-by meansoiax chain. I I31. or bevelgears H4 provide tween the;brake-sprocket: and; the shaft .l" I

Operation.

Theoperation; of the packing apparatus A of the: present. invention-abelieved to be clearly v apparentiand" is briefiy summarized at thispoint.

Although the means for reciprocating the-pack ing: head-28 in thespecified manner described has: been: referred to income detail; it istov'be emphasized that theginstant application' isprin cipally:concerned withtlie packing; head itselt,

Empty bottles i ii are ied totlie packing 'flocu's aligne'd belowtheopening ii' fby any suitable means-"and held successiinely-irrprecisepacking driving connection beof the packing operation, the packing head28 is elevated to its loading station, as shown in- Fig. 1, and stufiedolives 30 or other articles to be packed are manually or otherwisepositioned in the fingers, as shown in Fig. 6.

Upon actuation of the drive shaft 61, the crank 66 is rotated and byengagement with the internal cam B, the cam and shafts 59 reciprocatehorizontally. As the cam moves to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, thelever 38 is pivoted into the position shown in dashed line, lowering thepacking head into the bottle I5 so that the lowermost olives heldbetween the fingers 82 are rested upon the bottom of the bottle. Uponreturn travelof the cam 60 to raise the packing head, the cam Hiactuates the brake rod 102 to clamp the jaws 91 tightly about the sleeve31 holding the sleeve and ejectors 90 intheir lowermost position againstthe urging of the spring 94. As demonstrated in Fig. 14, as the fingersmove upwardly relative to the olives, the downwardly convergent twistedportions of the fingers thrust the olives radially outwardly into facingengagement with the bottle. Not only do the twisted surfaces of thefingers urge the olives outwardly into the position shown in full linein Fig. 14, but such thrusting is substantially aided by the obliqueinner edges 85 which slant outwardly and ride against the olives. Theeffect of the edges is such that immediately upon being packed, slightdepression lines H6 are evident on the olives which gradually disappear.

The shape of the cam III is such that the jaws 91 are released as soonas the fingers are withdrawn from the olives and under the influence 'ofthe spring 94 the sleeve 81 and the ejector 90 are returned to theirinitial position in the packing head 28.

The packing head is returned to the position shown in Fig. 1 at whichthe fingers are again loaded. In the meantime, the pawl 14 has moved theprogression cam 53 a single step so that the slide member 42 is nowsomewhat elevated on the lever increasing the lever arm effect thereofand decreasing the distance of travel of the sector gear 36 incident toreciprocation of the cam 60.

As the lever is then pivoted, the packing head 28 is again lowered intothe bottle H5 but be cause of the reduced pivotal movement of the lever,the head descends a distance only sufficient to postiion the next layerof olives on those previously packed. It will be apparent that bysubstitution of cams, 53 of various sizes and shapes, the device can beadapted to various olive sizes, packing heads adapted to locate one ormore layers at a time, and the like.

Again the brake operates to retain the ejector at the lower limit oftravel while the fingers 82 are withdrawn from the olives to thrust theolives outwardly against the bottle subsequent to which the brake isreleased and the operations repeated until the bottle is filled.

Upon return travel of the packing head 28 from the bottle after havingpositioned the uppermost layer therein, the cam 53 rotates past its highpoint so that the follower 54 and bar 50 drop to their initial positionand as a new bottle is fed to packing position, the apparatus isautomatically conditioned for repeated operation.

The packing apparatus of the present invention has made possibleaccurate mechanical place packing of olives and the like intocontainers, and the urging of the olives into facing engagement with thebottles for most advantageous display. The utilization of the fingersdescribed avoids all displacement of the olives from desired positionincident to their lateral thrusting. The device has been entirelysuccessful durin extensive operation.

7 Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed hereinbut is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a packing apparatus of the character described, a packing headcomprising a mounting member, a pair of elongated resilient fingersmounted on the mounting member and extended therefrom, said fingersbeing adapted to receive articles to be packed therebetween and beingoppositely twisted to define an outwardly flared article discharge paththerebetween endwardly of the fingers, and means movable relativelylongitudinally between the fingers adapted to urge articleslongitudinally of the fingers along the outwardly flared discharge pathwhereby the articles are released from-the fingers and thrust outwardlytherefrom.

2. In a packing apparatus adapted simultaneously to place a plurality ofarticles in predetermined arrangement in a container therefor and tourge the articles outwardly in the container comprising a mountingmember mounted for reciprocal rectilinear movement between apredetermined loading station and packing station, a plurality-of pairsof elongated fingers mounted on the mounting member and endwardlyextended therefrom in the direction of the packing station, the fingersof each pair being longitudinally arcuate to define an article holdingreceptacle therebetween and having convergent ends oppositely twisted toprovide an outwardly flared article discharge path endwardly of thefingers, and means for retaining articles at the packing station uponreturn movement of the mounting means and the fingers whereby thefingers are withdrawn from the articles forcing the articles outwardlyas they are traversed by the outwardly flared portions of the fingers.

3. In a packing apparatus of the character described, a packing headcomprising a substantially cylindrical head, a plurality of pairs ofelongated resilient fingers mounted on the head in a circulararrangement having inner edges and outer edges and being endwardlyextended from the head, the fingers of each pair being longitudinallyarcuate providing facing concavities and being endwardly convergent, theendwardly convergent portions of the fingers of each pair beingoppositely twisted with the inner edges of the fingers advanced towardeach other longitudinally of the fingers, and means mounted on the headfor relative movement endwardly of the fingers having ejector portionsextended between the fingers of each pair.

4. A packing apparatus adapted simultaneously to place a plurality ofarticles in predeterminedcircular arrangement in a container thereforand to urge the articles radially outwardly in their circulararrangement comprising an elongated rod, a substantially cylindricalhead finger being sinistrorsally twisted between the re- 2 ceptacle andits extended end to define an outwardly fiared article path of travelbetween the fingers, means mounting the rod and endwardly reciprocatingthe same between a loading station and a packing station, and meansresponsive to endward reciprocation of the rod for retaining articles atthe packing station upon return movement of the rod therefrom while thefingers are withdrawn from the articles forcing the articles outwardlyas they traverse the outwardly fiared portions of the fingers.

5. In a packing apparatus of the character described, a substantiallycylindrical head mounted for endward reciprocal rectilinear movement, 'aplurality of pairs of elongated transversely fiat resilient fingersmounted on the head in a substantially circular arrangement andendwardly extended therefrom, the fingers providing inner edges andouter edges and the fingers of each pair being mounted on the headtransversely substantially parallel to a plane radial to the head midwaybetween the fingers, the fingers of each pair also being longitudinallyarcuate to provide facing concave surfaces adapted to receivetherebetween articles to be packed and being endwardly convergenttherefrom, the convergent portion of a finger of each pair beingdextrorsally twisted and the convergent portion of the opposite fingerbeing sinistrorsally twisted whereby the inner edges approach each otherendwardly of the fingers, said approaching inner edges being convergentrelative to their respective outer edges, and ejector means slidablymounted on the head for relative movement longitudinally thereof havingportions extended between the fingers of each pair.

6. A packing device, adapted simultaneously to place a plurality ofolives or other ovoid articles in predetermined substantially circulararrange ment in a container therefor and to urge the articles radiallyoutwardly in their circular arrangement, comprising an elongated rod,driving means connected to the rod adapted to reciprocate the samebetween a predetermined loading station and a plurality of successivelyelevated packing stations, a head mounted on the rod, pairs of elongatedresilient fingers mounted on the head substantially concentrically ofthe rod and endwardly extended therefrom, the fingers providing inneredges and outer edges and the fingers of each pair being mounted on thehead transversely parallel to a plane radial to the head passed midwaytherebetween, the fingers of each pair also being longitudinally arcuateto provide facing concave surfaces adapted to receive therebetween thearticles to be packed, and being endwardly convergent therefrom, theconvergent portion of a finger of each pair being dextrorsally twistedand the convergent portion of the opposite finger being sinistrorsallytwisted whereby the inner edges approach each other endwardly of thefingers, a sleeve slidably mounted on the rod, a cross head havingejector portions disposed between the fingers arm means interconnectingthe cross-head and the sleeve in predetermined spaced relation, acompression spring mounted concentrically of the rod between the head onthe rod and the sleeve urging the sleeve and cross head endwardly of therod away from the extended ends of the fingers, a releasable frictionbrake engageable with the sleeve, and a synchronous actuating linkageinterconnecting the brake and the rod reciprocating means formomentarily restraining the sleeve and cross head downwardly duringinitial return movement of the rod at the successively elevated packingstations.

7. In a packing apparatus adapted simultaneously to place a plurality ofarticles in predetermined arrangement in a container therefor and tourge the articles outwardly against sides of the container into pressedengagement thereagainst comprising a mounting member mounted forreciprocal movement between a predetermined loading station and packingstation, pairs of resilient fingers mounted on the mounting member insubstantially circular arrangement and extended therefrom, the fingersof each pair defining an article holding receptacle therebetween havinga discharge path extended away from the mounting member and directedoutwardly away from the other pairs of fingers, the fingers beingdisposed within a container when the mounting member is at its packingstation and being retracted from the container when the mounting memberis in its loading station, and means for retaining articles borne by thefingers within the container upon return movement of the mounting meansto loading station whereby the fingers are withdrawn from the articlesand by their outwardly directed pathways force the articles outwardlyinto pressed engagement with the sides of the container.

8. In a packing apparatus adapted simultaneously to place a plurality ofarticles in predetermined arrangement in a container therefor and tourge the articles outwardly in the container comprising a mountingmember mounted for reciprocal movement between a predetermined loadingstation and packing station, a plurality of pairs of elongated resilientfingers mounted on the mounting member in a circular arrangement havinginner edges and outer edges and being endwardly extended from the head,the fingers of each pair being longitudinally arcuate providing facingconcavities and being endwardly convergent, the endwardly convergentportions of the fingers of each pair being oppositely twisted with theinner edges of the fingers advanced toward each other longitudinally ofthe fingers, the fingers of each pair being adapted slidably to receivearticles to be packed therebetween, and means for retaining articles atthe packing station upon return movement of the mounting means and thefingers whereby the fingers are withdrawn from the articles forcing thearticles outwardly as they are traversed by the inner edges of thefingers.

MARSHALL E. FRANCISCO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,500,939 Howell July 8, 1924 2,500,647 Schulthess Mar. 14,1950

